Leave a lighter footprint on vacation

Forgive me for my lack of recent posts as the dog days of summer have made me a bit lazy.  I am finding it tough to get out of vacation mode with the hot weather and beach-filled weekends.  As I write this, yet another thunderstorm is rolling through, which hopefully will bring us a cooler breeze!
During my beach vacation, I found myself slightly challenged “being green.”  I felt funny throwing away corn husks and strawberry hulls as I was lacking our compost. We also had a lack of kitchen towels, so paper towels became my friend again.  The vacation made me realize that our eco-driven practices really are habits now in our family.

I did find a couple of new products that really helped out while on vacation.  My favorite is my new Hydros Bottle Blue — Everyday Filtering Water Bottle.  It looks like your typical water bottle, except it has a fast flow filter built in.  When I was out shopping and found a local watering bubbler (fountain, or whatever you call it), I filled my Hydros bottle and there was no funny taste.  The bottle is BPA free and each filter lasts about 3 months. Just imagine how many plastic bottles you will keep out of landfills by switching to a Hydros bottle. The filters are recyclable too! Visit their website for more details. At the time of this writing, the bottle is listed for $29.99 on Amazon. (Hydros Bottle Blue — Everyday Filtering Water Bottle)  Feel extra good about your purchase as each one helps support Operation Hydros, which helps bring safe drinking water to those affected by the Global Water Crisis.  Learn more about Operation Hydros and order your 24oz bottle directly from HydrosBottle.com.

Even if my kitchen wasn’t as green as my own, I still tried to practice these tips.
1. I reused the water from boiling corn. Let it cool and then use it to water flowers.  I do the same thing with a bowl of water used to wash off lettuce.
2. Since we did need to purchase paper products, I choose recycled options.  At least I can spread the green wealth to the next renters.
3. Go easy on yourself and skip doing the dishes, I did whenever possible.  Look for the bare by Solo 10-Inch Pulp-Molded Plates, Made with Plant-Based Renewable Resources, 15-Count Packages (Pack of 12).  They may not be the best option, but I’m saving water right?
4. We let the beach towels dry outside overnight.  No need to wash them every day.  We didn’t have a washer/dryer at our place so we rinsed out our bathing suits each night and let them dry in the (hot) sun.
5. Leave the condiments for the next guest if you are in a rental, it is crazy that people have to throw them out just to have the next person buy the same thing again.
6. Next time I’m packing a couple of kitchen towels if I’m not traveling far. We just go through them so much and I can use them to safely transport all our electronics on our next trip.

I’m trying to get myself out of vacation mode, but no promises here.  The lightening is getting intense so it’s time to head back inside, and eat some ice cream. I have lots of great product reviews to share and I am also very excited about the start of my new OpenSky shop.  More details on this to come!

Are you in vacation mode too?  Do you have any eco-tips for those of us in a lazy mode during these hot summer days?

Disclosure: Hydros did provide me with product to review; this in no way influenced my opinions voiced here.